About: M6 motorway About: M6 motorway An Entity of Type : road , from Named Graph : , within Data Space : dbpedia.org The M6 motorway runs from junction 19 of the M1 at the Catthorpe Interchange, near Rugby via Birmingham then heads north, passing Stoke-on-Trent, Liverpool, Manchester, Preston, Lancaster, Carlisle and terminating at the Gretna junction (J45). Here, just short of the Scottish border it becomes the A74(M) which continues to Glasgow as the M74. Property abstract هذه المقالة تتحدث عن خط إم6 السريع في إنكلترا. هناك أيضاً خطي إم6 سريعين في هنغاريا (أنظر خط إم6 السريع (هنغاريا)) وفي جمهورية إيرلندا (أنظر شارع إن6).خط إم6 السريع هو أطول خط سريع في المملكة المتحدة.

يبدأ من مفصل مع خط إم1 السريع قرب ركبي في وسط إنكلترا، مروراً بكوفنتري، خلال برمنكهام وقرب مدن رئيسية مثل ولفرهامبتون، ستوك-أون-ترينت، مانشستر، ليفربول، وبريستون، ويستمر إلى شمال كارلآيل، قريباً للحدود السكوتلندية.لا طالما يتم الإدعاء أن الإم6 هو أكثر الخطوط السريعة انشغالاً في البلد، بالرغم من أن خط إم25 السريع قد يدعي نفس الشي، اعتماداً على طريقة القياس المستخدمة.

إيضاً يتم إطلاق اسم "العامود الفقري لبريطانيا" عليه باعتباره جزءاً من الممر الوسطي بين غلاسكو ولندن، يصل سكتلندا وشمال إنكلترا الصناعي بقلب البلد الحكومي والمالي في الجنوب الشرقي.32x28pxبوابة المملكة المتحدة (ar) Der M6 motorway (englisch für ‚Autobahn M6‘) ist die längste Autobahn des Vereinigten Königreichs. Die M6 ist 232 Meilen (373 km) lang und verbindet den M1 motorway bei Rugby mit Carlisle in der Nähe der Grenze zu Schottland. Die M6 ist, je nach Zählweise, eine der am stärksten befahrenen Autobahnen in Großbritannien. (de) The M6 motorway runs from junction 19 of the M1 at the Catthorpe Interchange, near Rugby via Birmingham then heads north, passing Stoke-on-Trent, Liverpool, Manchester, Preston, Lancaster, Carlisle and terminating at the Gretna junction (J45).

Here, just short of the Scottish border it becomes the A74(M) which continues to Glasgow as the M74. The M6 is the longest motorway in the United Kingdom and one of the busiest. It incorporated the Preston By-pass, the first length of motorway opened in the UK and forms part of a motorway "Backbone of Britain", running north−south between London and Glasgow via the industrial North of England. It is also part of the east−west route between the Midlands and the east-coast ports. The section from the M1 to the M6 Toll split near Birmingham forms part of the unsigned E-road E 24 and the section from the M6 Toll and the M42 forms part of E 05. (en) L'autoroute M6 est l'autoroute la plus longue du Royaume-Uni (365 km) et l'une des plus fréquentées.Elle commence près Rugby et passe à proximité de Coventry, Birmingham, Stoke-on-Trent, Warrington, Manchester et Preston. Elle côtoie le Lake District et termine sa course à Carlisle, non loin de la frontière écossaise.

(fr) L'autostrada M6 è l'autostrada più lunga del Regno Unito. Ha una lunghezza totale di 364,8 km. L'autostrada passa le città di Coventry, Birmingham, Stoke-on-Trent, Warrington, Preston terminando a Carlisle, presso la frontiera scozzese. (it) De M6 is een autosnelweg (motorway) in het Verenigd Koninkrijk. Zij is niet alleen één van de drukste maar met zijn 364,8 km ook de langste motorway van het land. Hij loopt van de M1 bij afslag 19, ten noordoosten van Rugby tot afslag 45 aan de Schotse grens bij Gretna. De motorway is een belangrijke verkeersader in Engeland, Hij verbindt Schotland en Noord-Engeland met het zuidoosten. Verder sluit het de steden, Birmingham, Liverpool en Manchester aan op de M1 die weer aansluit op de ringweg van Londen (M25).

Vanaf het begin van de snelweg, aan de M1 tot afslag 3a is de M6 onderdeel van de Europese weg E24, die daarna verder gaat op de M6 Toll. De E25 komt bij afslag J11a (M6 Toll) op de M6 en volgt deze tot het einde bij Gretna.

(nl) M6高速公路是英國最長的高速公路，總長度為226.7英里（364.8公里）。最初的M6路段建於1958年12月，它也是英國最早開放的高速公路。由於M6高速公路是連接倫敦和格拉斯哥的高速公路網的主要組成部分，它是英國最繁忙的高速公路之一。M6高速公路起始於拉格比附近的M1高速公路交叉路口19，途經伯明翰、曼徹斯特、普雷斯頓和卡萊爾，終止於蘇格蘭邊境的格雷特納，然後和通往格拉斯哥的A74(M)相連。M6高速公路和M42高速公路是歐洲E05公路（英國未標識）的组成部分。 (zh) Carlisle - Glasgow Motorway - Page 2 - SABRE Post by M45 Tailback » Mon Feb 05, 2007 08:15 It would be nice to have the M6 as a Rugby - Glasgow motorway but like others here I don't think it would wash with the Scottish Assembly.

The A1 is a special case, it's an historic route thats why IMHO the scottish assembly wouldn't change it. I therefore voted M74 (with the changeover at the border). You can just imagine the signs can't you. WELCOME TO SCOTLAND. YOU ARE NOW ON THE M74 - WELCOME TO ENGLAND YOU ARE NOW ON THE M6. Last edited by M45 Tailback on Wed Feb 07, 2007 21:39, edited 1 time in total. Steve S Post by SuperLez » Fri Feb 09, 2007 21:07 I voted for the M6 as I do feel that the numbering will change...eventually. For starters, there's the cost of replacing the signs, not to mention the M74 Extension in Glasgow (surely it would make sense to carry out the change at this point).

The fact that the A74(M) identifiers on the signs on the newest stretches of the motorway as well as "M6 Construction Traffic" signs during the building caused a lot of confusion gave grounds to the speculation that renumbering was inevitable And I'm sure I read somewhere that the "official" M6/A6 runs as far as Inverness! Will we see the route one day go this far!? Post by SouthWest Philip » Fri Feb 09, 2007 21:45 Should be M6, at least as far as the current M74/M73 junction, no question! Then either renumber the M73, M80 & M9 to Dunblane as part of the M6 or continue the M6 into Glasgow on the as yet unbuilt M74 extension. The M7 number should be used... for the Edinburgh to London motorway. This would replace the A1 & A1(M). (This idea has come up on SABRE before, but I can't remember who first suggested it.) An 'historic A1' could be created along the original route as a non-primary road.

In much the same way that the A5 remains alongside the A55 on Angelsey or the A6 paralells the M6, as do many other Ax/Mx combinations. I wonder if the idea of extending the A6 along the route of the original A74 was ever considered? Quote Post by Kenny1975 » Fri Feb 09, 2007 22:36 I think logically it should be the M6 taking any feelings out of it. Makes sense is a bit dumb having a straight route change numbers just because of a border. The A68, the A7, the A1, the A897 go across the border not to mention the A74 ! Just the way the M4 goes from London to Wales. Historically well to me anyway the A74 was a disgrace and still is (Gretna to Carlisle). The M6 should have allways have gone from Rugby to Glasgow.

The old A74 till it was replaced in the 1990's with the A74(m) and a bit part M74 under the name M6 DBFO, the old A74 was maybe scenic and had some character but also cost lives. If you go onto the old A74 in parts of South Lanarkshire you will see what i mean imagine the volume of traffic at motorway speeds (80-90) going on that road. The old A74 was a road you would dread driving on especially after a long journey from down south. The motorway markers on the A74(m) continue on from the M6 the distances increase as you go North, when you hit the M74 they then go opposite. The whole thing is a mess. Also when the new extension gets built, the junction number is all gonna go to hell, with either the new section being left without any junction numbers, or becoming Junction -1 etc.. or Junction A or the whole thing needs to be re-numbered all the way to the border. Also as for cost, Scotland is different from England. In the Lakes and Cumbria the M6 is on routes everywhere it seems and on distance signs.

In Scotland however you are unlikely to find any mention of the A74(m) or M74 until you actually hit it. So for local roads and trunk roads isnt gonna be the expense of replacing these signs. Surly in this day and age, wouldnt cost that much to replace the A74(m) signs on the motorway with sticky patches, which if of a decent quality should last until the signs are due to be replaced. Post by Kenny1975 » Fri Feb 09, 2007 22:42 Rob_A1010 wrote: I agree with J--M--B, the Scottish politicians wouldn't wear M6 (though they don't seem to be clamouring to renumber the A1). But there's no reason why the English HA shouldn't insist the new road is called M6 right up to the border, is there? Let's play the Scots at their own game Rob F By the way what politians, its assumed everyone in the scots parliment is a mad nationalist and the M6 would be English roads taking over Scotland. Very few people ive spoke to have this few and id be concerned if it was a view politians were voicing.

In promotion of business and the likes, calling the road to Glasgow M6 is better. The cargo terminal on the A8 is called Euro Central to attract business that they can do business in Scotland and are linked to Europe easily. Having the name M6 would on paper anyway look as if Glasgow and Central Scotland was part of the main UK motorway network for companies wishing to locate to central Scotland. The new road is going to be the M6, HA web site calls it M6 extension, the signs up on it state M6 extension. Post by M45 Tailback » Sat Feb 10, 2007 17:57 Andyf wrote: I think one number for the whole route would be better. So i voted for M74! LOL! No seriously i voted for M6. I would even be totaly radical and go one stage further and renumber the whole London to Glasgow route M6. This meaning the M1 from london to Rugby would have to be renumbered. The number 'M1' can then be used for the A1 (M). Much better to link the UK's major cities with one motorway, with one number.

So what will the present M1 between Junction 19 and it's terminus be called? Steve S Post by SouthWest Philip » Sat Feb 10, 2007 20:34 Andyf wrote: I would even be totaly radical and go one stage further and renumber the whole London to Glasgow route M6. This meaning the M1 from london to Rugby would have to be renumbered. The number 'M1' can then be used for the A1 (M). I think, if we were starting again from scratch, that would make sense. With the Cattthorpe Interchange in need for a full upgrade the M1-M6 could be made in the mainline at the same time. How evenly split is northbound traffic between staying on the M1 and turning onto the M6? Even without renumbering the southern part of the M1 it might be worth renumbering all of the M6's junctions starting with jnc 20 for Rugby A426 through to Glasgow.

A74 - Roader's Digest: The SABRE Wiki A74 7.3 You Tube Introduction The A74, despite only a fragment of it remaining under this classification in Glasgow today, is a road that is much remembered by those who used to make the great journey north (or south) along it before it was upgraded to the A74(M) throughout the 1990s. Today, only a few yards of the original 1923 route still carry the A74 number. Current route The A74 begins immediately south of the George Bridge in Glasgow , at a junction with the A8 . It passes through the Gorbals and crosses the Clyde at the King's Bridge, before running through Glasgow Green. It passes through industrial areas in Barrowfield, where it widens to dual carriageway. There are three junctions with the M74 before it meets Broomhouse, beyond which the existence of the A74 is ambiguous - the Ordnance Survey consider it to run to the A721 New Edinburgh Road - the route ahead being the B7076 .

The old road The A74 originally started in Glasgow at a junction with Trongate and Gallowgate with the A8 and headed southeast along London Road (crossing the current route at Bridgeton) and Dalmarnock Road, through Cambuslang to Hamilton. The route switched to run via Uddingston via the ex- A732 in 1935 , with the old road becoming the A724 . The majority of the A74's dualling took place in the early to late 1960s, and as a result it was quite a low standard road by modern expectations. Aspects of the design which made the road notorious included narrow laybys for bus stops, at-grade right turns, sharp bends, and narrow lanes for most of the link between the M6 at Carlisle and the M74 at Blackwood.

The old A74, now the B7076 , in the valley of the Evan Water, with the modern A74(M) to the left The road itself had some excellent sections in terms of engineering, despite the low standard, including a portion with split level carriageways much like those on the M6 further south through the Lune gorge, and several landmarks helped travellers locate themselves on the otherwise bleak and windswept moors of the southern uplands. For many, the old switchback under the West Coast Main Line on the Lanarkshire boundary was always a memorable landmark of the old road. The bend still remains on the now single carriageway old road, the B7076 , but the original railway bridge itself was replaced in the mid-2000s, taking away the character of the old double bend somewhat. In December 1988, the A709 junction became internationally recognised as the site of a crater following the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103.

For many weeks after the disaster, this section of the A74 along with the burned out houses on Sherwood Crescent alongside the dual carriageway were photographed and shown around the world by several media outlets, the tragedy making the small town of Lockerbie famous for all the wrong reasons. Progress north was always quick, which gave the road its fearsome reputation as a dangerous anachronism, so the A74 reached Blackwood sooner than would be expected, but not before a particularly narrow bypass of Lesmahagow (which was one of the first sections to be bypassed by the M74 in 1986), and traffic could then be directed onto the motorway to reach Glasgow 's boundaries before being tipped back onto the A74 at the M73 junction. This situation changed in the early 1990s when the connection to Cambuslang opened, bypassing some more of the route, although unlike all the other bypassed sections the A74 here was not renumbered.

Following the A74 from the former terminus of the M74 takes drivers through the east end of Glasgow , past Celtic's ground, and eventually into the Gorbals, before the route gets swallowed up in the byzantine maze that is the one-way system on the south bank of the River Clyde. 1980 strip map The improvements begin Throughout the 1990s, the A74 was almost a constant building site, as crews moved up and down the route from the extended M74 at Abington to Gretna . This meant that long sections of the rural road were subject to a maze of contraflows, diversions, and realignments as the motorway slowly but surely replaced the old 1960s dual carriageway. The Gretna Bypass opened first, in 1992, and as the decade went on, various sections opened in a seemingly random fashion. The final section, which now forms junctions 15 to 16 of the A74(M) opened in 1999, four years after the rest of the route had been upgraded.

The new motorway gave the route three lanes in each direction, and even ten years after its completion it still feels much quieter than the M6 to the south, or the narrow dual two lane section of the M74 further north (itself now a bottleneck). The construction of the motorway posed some interesting engineering challenges. In some places a brand new road was built alongside for non-motorway traffic, and in others the old dualled road was simply reduced to a single carriageway with the motorway rushing alongside it. One point of note from the new motorway is that most of the signs are patched to read A74(M) . Underneath they all read M6 , for the original intention was to extend the M6 from Carlisle all the way up the new motorway, to Abington, where it would arbitrarily change to M74 . For reasons that have never been discovered, this change never happened in 1999 when the motorway was fully linked up from Gretna to Glasgow . Several signs still hint at the road being the M6 - although it appears for now that any renumbering has been ruled out.

The Cumberland Gap The other remaining non-motorway section of the A74, and the one that drew far more attention from travellers, was the Cumberland Gap . This section of the A74 was the link between the M6 at Carlisle and A74(M) at Gretna . Built originally with the Carlisle Bypass, it was (somewhat ironically considering the bottleneck it became) once the highest quality section of the entire A74, as some of it featured hard shoulders and crude grade separation in the form of LILO junctions. Arguments raged between the Scottish Executive and the Highways Agency over who would build the motorway upgrade to finally connect the English and Scottish motorway networks together. By the turn of the 21st Century it was running the risk of becoming a major embarrassment to all parties concerned, and in 2006 contracts were signed and works finally began to eliminate the gap once and for all. As with some of the 1990s sections of the A74(M) , this stretch was to be upgraded entirely on-line with a new road for non-motorway traffic constructed alongside. Existing overbridges would be retained and the majority of the works would be within highway boundaries.

The other notable feature of this new motorway was the retention of Todhills service area , which was given brand new slip roads and designated as a rest area. This enabled the small site, which consisted purely of a roadside café and petrol station on each side of the A74 to avoid the stringent requirements of a full service area, and protected the jobs of the staff at the site. Whether or not the concept will be extended to other stretches of motorway is still unknown. One thing that was rather unlike the 1990s upgrades was that this section was to become part of the M6 to the border with Scotland, where the existing A74(M) would remain. The non-motorway access road alongside has also not been numbered, and is built to a low specification unlike the former dualled sections of the A74 further north. The contracts required the demolition of the original Mossband Viaduct , resulting in a wider road crossing over the West Coast Main Line carrying both motorway and local road, as well as a new bridge to carry the widened carriageways over the River Esk.

The motorway replacement opened to traffic in the early hours of December 5, 2008, which was also the 50th anniversary of the completion of the Preston Bypass (the first stretch of motorway in the UK). This marked the end of one of the most notorious sections of A road in the United Kingdom, and the end of an era for the A74. The future In June 2011, the M74 was extended through to Kingston on the M8 , removing the A74's importance as a major through route in Glasgow. It is still an important local road from the motorway to the city centre via Celtic Park, and while some signs suggest it has become an extension of the A721 , other signs still use the A74 number. If renumbering is officially confirmed, it would leave the A74(M) as a motorway standard bypass of a road which only exists in that form, and may prompt renumbering to either M74 or M6. Even if the number is eventually lost to the history books, it will be difficult to erase the nostalgic connotations raised by this old artery.

History Main Article: M74 and A74(M) History The A74 evolved from Thomas Telford's 19th century coaching route from Glasgow to Carlisle, replacing the earlier (and, by all accounts, impractical) Roman Road. Telford, in collaboration with engineer William Alexander Provis, designed a then-modern coaching road in 1814-15, with construction complete by 1825. The road was built to good standard, and hence was chosen as the line of the A74 nearly 100 years later. Several bridges and other features of this route survive on the B7076 and B7078 in the south of Scotland. The road was re-routed in the Lesmahagow area in the 1930s and this involved the construction of a new dual carriageway which bypassed the centre of the town. This section included the 'Lesmahagow New Bridge' which was completed in 1938. Major improvements to the road began in the mid 1950s and conversion of sections of the road to a dual carriageway was underway by 1957.

The verges at Beattock summit were widened in 1955, whilst a short length (0.75 miles) of the road was re-routed near Johnstonebridge in 1957, and Paddy's Pickle bridge was re-constructed in 1959. Construction of the first of the dual carriageway sretches began in 1957 with a 5 mile section immediately south of the existing pre-war dual carriageway at Lesmahagow. Construction of the Beattock to Lockerbie section was underway by 1958, with work on the Abington and Crawford bypasses commencing in 1959. Originally it was anticipated that the whole of the route would have been dualled by 1965, but it soon became clear that progress was not as quick as had been hoped and the first of the new dual carriagway stretches did not open until 1961. Grade separated junctions were to be provided where the road met other major routes, whilst flat crossings would suffice for the numerous minor roads linking to the route.

The majority of the dualling was online with bypasses provided for the larger settlements along the route. A 5 mile section south of Lesmahagow opened in 1961. The Crawford and Abington bypasses, including the section between them, opened in 1962. The Abington bypass featured a free-flow GSJ with the A73. An 11 mile section between Beattock and Lockerbie and a 4.5 mile section between Lockerbie and Ecclefechan opened in 1962. Beattock and Blackford were bypassed in 1963, although part of the latter was absorbed into the southern part of the M74 when it opened in 1966. GSJs were provided with the A701 at Beattock. Mossband viaduct was built in 1964. The Lockerbie bypass, including 3 GSJs, opened in 1965, as did the section from Crawford to just south of Harthope viaduct, and the section north of Abington towards the current J12 .

The 7 mile section across difficult terrain between Harthope viaduct and Beattock was dualled around 1967. The section had become something of a bottleneck as the road both to the north and south had been dualled several years earlier. This section featured the split level carriageways much like those found on the M6 through Tebay. Ecclefechan was bypassed in 1967, and the dual carriageway was extended towards Kirkpatrick Fleming. Kirkpatrick Fleming was bypassed in 1969. Much of the Cumberland gap section was built in 1969/1970 and opened with the M6 in December 1970. The Gretna bypass was the last section to be built, construction began in 1971 and the section opened in 1973 as a fully grade separated dual carriageway including a short D3 section. Due to the number of accidents and fatalities on the route, several safety improvements were made throughout the 1970s, and there was already pressure to convert the whole road to a motorway.

1m hard strips were added to the edges of some sections of the road, and central crash barriers were installed along the route throughout the 1970s in an effort to improve safety. Extra route confirmation signs were added to remind drivers that the road was not a motorway, and some gaps in the central reservation were closed, but no major changes were made to the route until the mid 1980s. The route was largely replaced by the new motorway from 1986 onwards and only a 5-mile section around Lesmahagow survives as a dual carriageway today. (See M74 and A74(M) History for more details on the construction of the motorway.) Photographs M74 motorway - Wikishire M74 motorway M74 near Larkhall . The A74(M) and M74 form a major motorway in the United Kingdom, connecting Glasgow to Carlisle and the M6 . Following an extension opened on 28 June 2011, it now connects to the M8 motorway west of Glasgow .

Contents 6.2 Other sites Route From its junction with the M8 just south of the Kingston Bridge , the newest section passes through the Glasgow districts of Govanhill , Polmadie , Oatlands and parts of the nearby towns of Rutherglen and Cambuslang on an elevated embankment, with junctions at Kingston, Polmadie Road, Cambuslang and Tollcross before connecting to the pre-existing M74. It then runs in a roughly south-easterly direction past the Clyde Valley towns of Bothwell , Hamilton and Motherwell before meeting the cross-country A71 at Larkhall . It passes west of Lanark and beyond Abington , where it changes into the A74(M) and then goes to Moffat and Lockerbie , before making an end-on connection with the M6, near Longtown . History The original M74 – 1960s The A74 was the original route from Glasgow to Gretna, where it met the A6 south to London.

Starting in the 1930s, the single-carriageway road between Gretna and Glasgow was progressively upgraded to dual carriageway, being completed in the early 1970s with the completion of the Gretna bypass. At the northern end, it was not possible simply to add to the existing carriageway because of the built-up nature of the area. A bypass was built as one of Scotland's first motorways, the M74, from Draffan to Maryville, north of Uddingston, completed by 1969. Junctions were originally numbered from south to north, as there were plans to extend northwards. This did not happen for many decades. The northern section around Hamilton was built as three-lane dual carriageway, narrowing to two-lane dual carriageway south of junction 6. It met the dual-carriageway A74 at Draffan and carried on to Carlisle.

First extension (1984–1987) The southern sections, where there was no need to bypass the existing route, were not originally upgraded to motorway standard, but to dual carriageway without hard shoulders or full grade separation. The gradual construction of the M6 from Rugby (where it met the M1 to London) to Carlisle in 1970, where it terminated on the A74, meant that the route from Glasgow to London was entirely dual carriageway. This led to calls for the already dualled A74 from Draffan to the M6 to be upgraded a second time, to motorway standard. As the government had already invested in the dual carriageway upgrade, they initially resisted these calls. In 1972 the Government agreed to extend the M74 from Draffan to today's J12 at Millbank. It was built in three sections, opening 1986–87. It was constructed to dual two-lane standard, and included a bypass of Lesmahagow , as the M74.

In 1984, in preparation for the southwards extension, the junction numbers were changed to run from north to south: Raith (junction 5) on the original south-to-north numbering remained as junction 5, with Maryville (the most northerly junction at that time) becoming junction 4, leaving lesser numbers available for junctions for the expected continuation of the motorway northwards. When the first southern extension opened, Draffan, originally junction 1, ceased to exist and junction 9 (the first junction on the new extension) was and still is only a southbound exit onto the old A74 just south of Blackwood village, to serve the villages of Blackwood, Kirkmuirhill, Lesmahagow and Coalburn. 1990s extension In 1987, the government committed to upgrading the remaining A74 from J12 to the M6 to motorway standard. When the first section opened, as far south as Abington (J12-J13) in 1991 it was numbered M74.

Following this, the government announced that the route would be completed as the M6, as the two motorways would meet head on at Carlisle. The Scottish section of the A74 was then upgraded in sections, not all contiguous, as the A74(M), a temporary number until all the sections were complete, and the eight-mile section in Cumberland had been constructed and connected to the M6. They were constructed with dual three-lane carriageways. In 1995 the first northern extension was opened to Fullerton Road in Glasgow, as M74. The A74 upgrades were complete by 1999. This left an anomaly – the M74 began at Glasgow, then at J13 changed to A74(M) for the 40 miles to the border. Meanwhile, the eight-mile section of A74 in Cumberland was not upgraded due to lack of funds, leaving the "Cumberland Gap" of dual carriageway between the three-lane motorways. Until around 1996, the change of designation to M6 once the Cumberland Gap had been closed was definite.

[1] When the Scottish Executive was established in 1999, taking over responsibility for roads in Scotland, Sarah Boyack said that "We have no current plans to rename or redesignate the M74 or A74(M) motorways between Glasgow and the border as the M6". [2] M6 Carlisle – Guards Mill (2004–2008) Plans to upgrade Cumberland Gap from Gretna to Carlisle [3] were announced in 2004. Costing £174m, this was constructed as M6 as originally planned in the 1990s, and was opened on 5 December 2008. [4] The project also included the construction of a new bridge crossing the River Esk . [5] This means that there is now a continuous motorway from London to Glasgow, with four numbers (M1, M6, A74(M) and M74).

M74 northern extension to M8 (2008–2011) Construction on the six-lane M74 Northern Extension (M74 Completion) northwards by five miles through the south-eastern part of Glasgow to meet the M8 started in 2008, with opening on 28 June 2011. [6] The extension involved the demolition of the Rosebery Park football ground. [7] The city centre section is supposed to perform a similar role to the never-built southern flank of the Glasgow Inner Ring Road planned in the 1960s, and first set out as a scheme in the Bruce Report of the 1940s, but only half-completed. The scheme was at the centre of a road protest from local campaigners and environmentalists; their appeal against the road orders collapsed in June 2006. Construction began on 28 May 2008. [8] The project, initially expected to cost £444 million, ran considerably over-budget at £692 million. [9] There was a £12 million allowance for grouting of old mine workings.

[10] East End Regeneration Route Road sign on the A702 showing the change in designation. Construction of the East End Regeneration Route which will connect the M74 Northern Extensions with the M8 motorway at the Provan Gas Works interchange with the M80 motorway . The Phase 1 and Phase 2 from M74 to Parkhead began in 2008 and completed in 2012, but Phase 3 from Parkhead to M80 will not be started until after 2014. [11] It will make use of existing stretches of road and filler sections on currently derelict land. Star of Caledonia A new sculpture is planned near Gretna called the Star of Caledonia. One intention is for it to be viewed from the motorway, although there will be no motorway signs to indicate the structure. [12] Junction renumbering When the original motorway sections were built in the 1960s, the motorway was numbered south-to-north, with Draffan at its southern terminus with the A74 Dual Carriageway being junction 1 and Maryville junction 6.

When the M74 was to be extended south of Draffan in the 1980s, it was renumbered, in 1984 in preparation for the opening of the southern extension, north-to-south. The Raith or Raith remained as J5, while Maryville became J4, allowing for later extension Northwards, towards Glasgow. The original junction 1 at Draffan was closed, with the first new junction 9 (Blackwood) replacing it, using the southbound carriageway of the old A74 as a slip road. The remains of the semicircular access road to the southbound carriageway are still visible at Draffan Road, with the Blackwood slip road now used as an access road to new housing. In preparation for the extension to meet the M8 south of the Kingston Bridge,in 2010, junctions 1–3 of the First Northern Extension, were renumbered 2A, 3 and 3A to accommodate the new junctions.

If the M74 was to become a Northern Extension of the M6 renumbering would again be required,reverting to numbering south-to-north with the present M74 J1 becoming the M6 J70. Junctions

Question: Which motorway runs from Glasgow to Carlisle?
Answer: M74